If You Love Someone
by Todd's Pet
Summary: This is the re-write of the Todd-Steve-Ellen love triangle; I've added and changed so much it's almost totally different story.FF has changed their formatting so this doesn't read well - please go to my dA account to get a far easier to read layout.
1. Chapter 1

PROLOGUE

The wraith are here!

The entire village is in panicked turmoil, people running in all directions, screaming, stumbling, crying. All thought of family and friends disappear and it seems it's every man for himself. She starts to run as fast as she can, knowing she'll never reach the mountain caves in time. And even if she could, what would she do? Hide like a frightened animal until she was herded up anyway? She feels more inclined to stand and fight.

She looks around for a weapon of some kind and picks up a pitchfork from the nearest haystack. She whirls around just as two drones are closing in on her. Fear gives her the strength to smack the back of the pitchfork across the face of the first drone and he staggers off to the side. The momentum of her swing brings her around face to face with an officer wraith and her adrenaline rush kicks in; she digs the end of the pitchfork viciously into the middle of his chest. She feels the prongs slide easily into his flesh but when she pulls back it's stuck fast; she can feel and almost hear the suction resistance before it suddenly lets go and she reels backwards and falls over.

She lies there stunned for several seconds as she watches the wraith, bleeding profusely from three holes in his chest, still advancing upon her.

She rolls over onto her knees and starts to stand up but she's rugby tackled from behind, dragged to her feet and held firmly between two heavily muscled drones. She struggles hard even though she knows it's no use but she refuses to go willingly.

The wraith she wounded closes in on her and she notices that he has stopped bleeding, no sign of injury on the three little areas of green skin that now show through the holes in his coat. His yellow eyes are fixed on her like some hungry cat stalking its prey. She kicks and screams and scratches, hissing like a wild thing.

She wants to squeeze her eyes shut, to not see it coming, but she doesn't want to give this creature the satisfaction of seeing her cower, so she holds his eyes with a fierce stare and he seems to falter.

Then she sees the reason for his hesitation: another wraith strides towards her and, from the way he carries himself, she knows he must be their leader. Her theory is confirmed when he growls at the one about to kill her, "No! Not her! Bring her to me!"

Instantly submissive, the other one bows his head to his leader and signals to those holding her, who drag her off toward a small ship.

She carries on struggling, knowing it's useless, but grateful that at least, for now, she's still alive.


	2. Chapter 2

CHAPTER ONE

She holds herself with such youthful defiance, even though Todd doesn't think she can be all that young in human terms. He can sense that she's afraid but she's determined not to let him see it. Her deep blue eyes flash like sapphires but he can just detect a slight tremble in the long and lush strawberry blonde curls that tumble down her back. She's trying so hard to control her body's shaking, thinking that if she does he won't know how afraid she really is.

He admires defiance in anyone, wraith or human – revels in it, even – it energizes him, like feeding by proxy. He can actually smell it radiating from this female.

So why not just feed on her now, drink in all that defiance? Is his life so full of duty and responsibility that he needs a challenge such as her; something to be tamed, like a willful pet?

No, he knows that he would not want to break her spirit, so there must be more to his fascination for her than that, though he has no idea what it is yet. No matter. He'll take her anyway and work out what the attraction is later. Todd always was one to shoot first and ask questions later.

***

He's very tall – much taller than her – so that even when he's pacing several feet away from her, she has to look up to look him in the eye. He is delivering the hive rules: No wandering around the ship on her own, no talking to other wraith, stay away from the drone guards, eat and sleep only in his quarters… endless rules.

"Is there anything I am allowed to do?" she demands suddenly.

He turns to look at her and his eyes flash with amber fire. He clearly isn't used to being interrupted.

"What would you like to be able to do?" he asks sarcastically.

She shrugs. Todd can tell this one is going to be a challenge after all.

"What is your name?" His tone makes it clear even to her that this is a demand not a question.

"Ellen," she replies starkly.

"You do not speak much," Todd observes. "Most human females I have encountered have much to say for themselves." She merely looks up at him and raises one eyebrow challengingly. "You have nothing to say?" he asks her. Still she says nothing. "Hmm, most humans cannot be silent."

"I know," she agrees, "irritating, isn't it?"

Todd throws his head back and laughs heartily. After a few moments and still chuckling he looks at her and says, "Are you commenting on your fellow humans – or on me?"

"Take it any way you want," she replies, lowering her head so that he cannot see her smile at his good humor – but Todd hasn't missed the little half smile that flits briefly across her face. "How should I address you?" she asks plainly.

"Always as Commander in front of others."

"And here?" she indicates the room around them in which they are alone. Again Todd notices that she did not miss the inference in his comment.

"Some humans I know call me Todd. You can call me that if you wish but only ever when we are alone."

Todd – she rolls the name around in her head – then says, "Not exactly a scary name, is it?"

"I'm not as scary as I look," he tells her. "But you must remember that some wraith are very scary indeed, even if they don't look it."

She shrugs again. The movement stirs the reddish-blonde curls lying over her shoulders, giving Todd a sudden and overwhelming desire to run his fingers through it. But he wonders if her beauty is going to make it worth his while; intelligence plus stubbornness do not make a good combination for a human among wraith – she'll be lucky to make it alive until the end of the week.

"Stay with me and obey me and you will be safe," he tells her firmly.

***

Safe. Does she want to be safe? Her whole life has been "safe" and where has it got her? It's got her to her late-forties with all of her childhood dreams still unfulfilled, that's where!

She has been a dutiful daughter, then a dutiful wife and mother, followed that up by being a dutiful widow, and now she's back to being a dutiful daughter again, spending her days in domestic drudgery and tending to her old and bad-tempered father.

And when the only exciting thing to come into her entire life finally happens, where does she find herself? Forced to be a dutiful worshipper, spending her days in domestic service and tending to the demands of a cranky old wraith.

Is it really too much to ask for? All she ever wanted was a little adventure in her miserable existence, something to make her feel truly alive.

All those nights when she couldn't sleep and she'd wander out into the field and lie hidden in the crops, looking up at the stars and wondering what was there, far out beyond the limits of her dull life.

And now she knows – now that she is there, out among those stars – all there is here is just another dull life as a slave to the wraith.

She feels so angry she could cry. But she blinks back her tears because she doesn't want this wraith to see them and think she's afraid. She doesn't know why, there's just something about this wraith, this Todd, that makes her feel…

Makes her feel what? He's only doing what his kind have done for millennia. In fact, by wraith standards he's been kind to her. He has an unsettling effect on her but she can't see why. She'll work it out later, no doubt. But in the meantime she'll be damned before she'll let him think she's afraid.


	3. Chapter 3

CHAPTER TWO

"Look what you did!" The words are out of her mouth before she even has time to regret them.

"You should look where you are going, human!" The wraith snarls at her but she stands her ground; too late now to back down.

"You were the one who wasn't looking where you were going," she says, glaring at him obstinately. "Now look at them! I'll have to fold them all over again."

She's aware of him and his friend watching her as she stoops to pick up the now crumpled pile of clothes. She would swear they were smiling, but it's hard to tell with these wraith – those big pointed teeth make them look as if they're always grinning.

"She's the Commander's new slave," the smaller one with the face tattoo says. She bristles at his use of the word slave, but then again, that's what she is, isn't she?

"Really? You would think he could keep his slave in line." This from the other one, the one with no tattoo and long, smooth, waist length hair… the one who had leered at her when she bent to pick up her bundle. "What is your name, human?"

"Ellen." No point in trying to hide it since they clearly know who she is.

The smooth-haired wraith circles her slowly where she stands. "Insolent for a slave, aren't you?" She merely lifts her chin and continues to glare at him.

"Perhaps he likes his pets spirited!" the other wraith laughs.

"Not hive-trained you yet, then?" the smooth-haired wraith says, still circling her and leaning in close now and then, obviously trying to unnerve her. "Perhaps he needs some assistance to break you in?"

"I require no such assistance!" a deep voice, bristling with authority reverberates the length of the corridor as Todd strides towards them. "But I do require that you leave my slave to go about her duties unmolested."

The other two wraith instantly step back, putting some several feet between her and themselves as Todd comes to stand directly behind her. The smaller wraith is deferential, but Ellen notices the sneer of disrespect from the smooth-haired one.

Without warning, Todd pokes her hard in the back, almost making her drop her bundle of clothes again. "Move woman!" he says more abruptly than she's ever heard him speak before. "You do not have all day and there are many more chores for you to do!"

He prods her again and she starts to walk down the corridor towards his quarters, all the while feeling the smooth-haired wraith's eyes drilling into her back until they turn the corner out of sight.

***

"Do you have a death wish, woman?" Todd growls at her the second the door closes behind them. "Consider yourself lucky they did not feed upon you where you stood!"

"Lucky?" she spins to face him, anger making her eyes flash brightly and catching Todd off guard. "It would have been better for me if they had! Do you really think I want to go on living like this? As your… your slave!"

"You are not a slave," Todd begins, trying to be patient.

"Damn right I'm not!" A small, quiet voice inside her own head tells her to shut up, perhaps he's right and she does have a death wish, but she cannot stop herself. "I'd rather die than be anyone's slave!"

Todd's patience suddenly disappears and his eyes flash fire back at her. Despite the anger in his face, his voice is deadly quiet when he tells her, "Oh, believe me, that can be arranged."

It stops her suddenly in her tracks and she stands and stares at him. He holds her gaze and watches as her anger slowly dissipates and a confusion of emotions swirl in her eyes – even, albeit fleetingly, fear. So she does want to live, he thinks.

"Even as Commander of this ship, I can only protect you up to a point," he sighs. "I can assure you that, even as my 'slave', you are better off with me. No other wraith would tolerate your disobedience."

She looks down at her feet and Todd sees that she has the common sense to look ashamed. "I know, truly I do. I'm sorry. I didn't mean to make you look bad… oh, but you don't know what it's like! Endless days of domestic drudgery…"

"True," Todd concedes, tilting his head to one side. Bizarrely, given the situation, she finds his gesture oddly appealing.

"Not only here and now, but my whole life. I've longed for adventure, but have had nothing but duty weighing me down!"

"Ah, now there I do know; I know exactly what that is like…"

"Perhaps if I just had some small thing to look forward to?" she ventures.

"Hmm," Todd muses almost to himself. "You are clearly intelligent – even if you are your own worst enemy." He gives her a glare, but she can see the sparkle in his eyes and knows he's no longer angry with her. "I see you watch the stars often. Would you like to learn more about them?" The only answer he needs is her beaming smile that lights up the whole room. "Very well," he decides, "I will arrange a tutor for you as of tomorrow."


	4. Chapter 4

CHAPTER THREE

Her good mood is dispelled the instant the door opens and she sees the smooth-haired wraith standing there. She wants the floor to open up and swallow her.

"You!" he says as soon as he sees her. He recovers within seconds and his look of horror is instantly replaced with the leer he had given her yesterday. "Well," he says, "It looks like our Commander needs help to break you in after all."

Inexplicably her hackles rise at the implied insult to Todd, but she recalls his harsh lecture and keeps a firm hold of her temper. She looks down at her own feet and tries to sound obedient. "That will not be necessary," she says, "I am sorry for speaking out of turn to you yesterday."

"Well, that's a start," the wraith says almost brightly. "You may call me Steve, Ellen." She's surprised that he remembered her name.

He shows his teeth, in what she supposes he must think is a welcoming smile. "Don't stand in the doorway all day, human. Come in… I don't bite."

She steps into the room and, as she passes within inches of him to sit at the work station, she looks up at him and doesn't believe him for one moment.

***

He has to admit that she's more intelligent than any other human he has encountered. It almost seems a waste for her to be a domestic slave. She seems to have an intuitive grasp of wraith technology and an insatiable thirst for knowledge of any kind.

He watches her closely and wonders what other insatiable appetites she might learn to have.

He leans over her several times during the course of her lesson and every time he struggles with a compulsion to drag his fingers through her golden curls and stir the vanilla and jasmine scent of her hair. He studies her as she reads the computer screen in front of her, her startlingly blue eyes darting back and forth as she tries to make sense of the new symbols. In spite of herself she cannot help her sheer joy in learning from making her eyes shine.

He reaches across her to point to the screen and she forgets herself and looks him straight in the eye, their faces barely inches apart. Their gaze locks, his gold and her sapphire, both blocking and probing at one and the same time, intensely aware that the push-pull attraction is mutual.

He can feel the sexual tension in her – it vibrates on his skin like a note from a tuning fork – and all he has to do is reach in and find the key. He knows that, when he does, the release of it will overwhelm her and it will be her undoing.

He leans in close to her and whispers, as if they were conspiring a prank together, "Have you ever seen a nebula – close up?" he asks her.

"What's a nebula?"

"I can show you." He holds his hand out to her, "Come with me."

She hesitates when she sees the feeding slit like a red gash across his palm. Is it safe to take a wraith's hand? He waggles his outstretched hand towards her and says again, "Come."

Always her own worst enemy, she takes his hand and goes with him.

***

As she follows Steve she studies him carefully. He's not as tall as Todd, though still much taller than her. He's slimmer, sleek and quick to Todd's strong and steady. His hair is much longer than Todd's and brushed smooth, some of it gathered into ponytails and braids; even his little beard is braided. He is actually very handsome – for a wraith.

She wonders briefly if this wraith is vainer than Todd, but then notices that he does not have an earring or a tattoo. Perhaps Todd is vainer than he would like others to think.

They round yet another corner and she is confronted with a sight that leaves her open-mouthed with wonder. The hallway has opened up into a huge cavernous room, the far wall of which is nothing but window – no, there's not even any window there!

"How…? There's no glass…"

Steve pulls her towards the 'wall' and encourages her to touch it. When she puts her hand out it quivers like ripples on water.

"A force field," he explains.

When she looks out beyond the 'window' it takes her breath away and she stands staring, completely agog. She's unaware of how close he has been standing until he whispers in her ear, "Beautiful, isn't it?"

"Oh yes," she sighs, completely forgetting where she is and who she's with. "It is the most beautiful thing I've ever seen!"

***

Steve watches her closely as she stares in awe at the nebula. He knows she's not young for a human, but she still has that sense of wonder that the young have, even wraith younglings. And yet he senses that she feels she's already missed her chance. He can tell that her life has been burdened with duty and that she longs for just a taste of freedom and adventure, to have that sense of wonder in her life every day.

But her longings will never be fulfilled as the Commander's personal worshipper, or as a slave to any wraith, for that matter. He wonders if she knows this, if she's resigned herself to it. He doubts it very much and knows if he can play those longings he can use her to get to the Commander and undermine him.

He can see what the Commander sees in her, in spite of her stubborn defiance – or indeed even because of it. She is completely unaware of how beautiful she is. When she is happy, as she is now, her radiance lights up the space around her.

He can almost understand why the Commander would want to try to make her happy just to see it, the sentimental old fool that he has become. That's what happens when you spend too much time trying to negotiate with humans.

Steve delves as deeply into her mind as he can without her knowing it. Ah, there they are… she has dreams; very private dreams that he can almost touch. But she's buried them deep and he'll have to work hard to unearth them.


	5. Chapter 5

CHAPTER FOUR

It's very late by the time she gets back to Todd's quarters and when the door slides aside the first thing she sees is Todd sitting in his chair, looking straight at her as if he had been waiting for her.

"Your lesson finished two hours ago. Where have you been?" he demands without preamble. His tone tells her he will brook no evasion, so she tells him straight.

"I know the one of whom you speak," he says gruffly, "I do not want you to see him again."

"You were the one who sent me to him," she states defiantly, "He is my tutor."

"I will arrange to have your tutor changed."

"Why?"

Todd merely growls impatiently.

"Am I to have no reason why?" she asks. He growls again and the flash of fire in his eyes tells her she's over stepped the mark, but still she persists, adding, "That's hardly fair."

"Enough!" he barks. "I know him. He is ambitious and is no doubt merely playing with you." Todd visibly calms himself and when he speaks again it is in a gentler tone. "It is late. You should get some sleep."

She thinks of arguing further but he turns to his computer screen, making it clear their discussion is over as far as he is concerned. She walks dejectedly toward the sleep chamber, not entirely sure what is making her saddest: Todd's anger with her, or the thought of not seeing Steve again. As she passes behind him she sees his screen and slows her pace to look. Todd notices.

"See anything of interest?" he asks her.

She cannot help herself. "Are there that many nebulae in this area?"

Todd looks up from his screen and twists round to look at her. "And what would you know of this?"

"That one there," she points to the screen, "The Butterfly Nebula. Steve showed it to me in the observation bay tonight, but he didn't tell me there are so many others near here. There must be at least five on your computer charts."

"And when did you learn to read wraith?"

"This afternoon," Ellen says proudly.

"He is that good a tutor?" Todd asks incredulously, standing up to face her.

"Well… I only know a little and I probably picked up more than he realized I had."

"But he makes your lessons interesting?" She says nothing but she can feel herself blush slightly and looks away. "Hmm… I can see that you find him… engaging," Todd says. His sad expression confuses her. He reaches out to her and runs the palm of his hand down the length of her hair. "Very well," he sighs, "He may remain as your tutor until I find a suitable replacement."

She spontaneously flings her arms around his neck and hugs him. "Thank you!"

"You must still be careful around him, Ellen," Todd says. "Now, you must sleep." He takes her arms from around his neck and gently pushes her toward the alcove.

"It's late – aren't you coming too?" She's getting used to sleeping with the warmth of him beside her.

"I'll be there shortly," he says and sits back down in front of his computer screen. He turns his back to her and says nothing more, so she quietly leaves him to it.

***

He listens to her breathing as he works and once it slows and steadies, indicating that she is deeply asleep, he stands up and walks softly through to the other room, where he sits on the window bench and watches her sleep for almost an hour.

Why did he take her, he asks himself. As a Commander in these troubled times he has precious little spare time to entertain a human female, especially one like her. Not only is her mind quick and sharp, but her soul is restless and her heart nurtures dreams the like of which he fears he cannot hope to help her fulfill.

Why should it matter to him whether she realizes her dreams or not? She is his domestic slave; provided she conducts herself properly and tends to his needs then he need concern himself with no more. But for him, it isn't that simple. No, for her it isn't that simple. He shocks himself with the sudden realization that she means more to him than just a personal servant. Her happiness matters to him.

But can he make her happy? Does he have what it takes to engage a woman like her, to enchant her the way the wraith she calls Steve does? And if he is not enough for her, does he have the strength to let her go?

Sighing heavily he pulls his boots off and leaves them where they fall. He pulls his t-shirt over his head and leaves it on the bench, then stands up and unbuttons his leather trousers, yanking them off as he moves toward the bed.

Like a child looking for safe refuge he crawls in under the cover beside her. He rolls over onto his side, spoons into her back and wraps his body around hers. He buries his face in her hair and breathes her scent in deeply. As he drifts to sleep he resolves to find a way to keep her happy, safe and alive, to try to find more time for her – and to consummate their relationship and bind her to him.

***

She wakes alone but the bed is still warm. Then she hears the sonic shower humming. She gets up and picks up his discarded clothes from the floor as she crosses the room. Usually his messiness irritates her, but this morning she finds herself standing in the middle of the room, his t-shirt clutched to her chest, watching him in the shower.

She can see the shape of him through the opaque screen that looks disconcertingly like veined skin stretched across an alcove in a corner of the room. He's tall and solidly built, but still slender, the line of ridges down his spine and his white hair hanging halfway down his back are both clear even through the screen.

She shakes her head abruptly, as if trying to snap herself out of a trance. Why is she standing watching him like this? He's a wraith, a monster… isn't he?

She shakes her head again and stoops to pick up his boots. She stands them upright at the bottom of the bed, walks over to the chute in the corner with his clothes and drops them in, then walks back to the bed and straightens it out.

He is just stepping out of the shower as she slides the door to the closet open. She keeps her head turned as she lays his clean uniform on the bed, trying not to look at him as she passes him on her way to the shower.

She stands in the cubicle and revels in the strange sensation of the sonic waves lifting all the grime from her skin, leaving her feeling scrubbed clean without getting wet.

She's also intensely aware of him watching her in the same way as she had just been watching him. The sensation confuses her – not least because she finds it's not entirely unpleasant.


	6. Chapter 6

CHAPTER FIVE

That night, when he returns from the bridge, Todd has a paper-wrapped package under his arm. He offers her the parcel. "I have a gift for you."

She opens it excitedly, and some kind of fabric falls from the package, a deep blue that shimmers like a pool of moonlit water. She casts aside the paper and holds up the most incredible dress she has ever seen.

"It's beautiful!" she gasps as she holds it up to herself. She beams at him and thanks him several times as she twirls around the floor with the dress swirling around her as she does.

"It matches your eyes," Todd says quietly, looking at her in a strangly wistful kind of way.

She recognizes that look and stops twirling. Can wraith want…? She reminds herself that he has gone out of his way to be kind to her since the day she was taken, and she wonders if it would really be so bad…

"Would you like me to put it on now?" she asks, suddenly feeling shy.

He shrugs as if he doesn't care but his face tells her otherwise and she disappears into their sleep chamber. When she returns moments later wearing the dress, Todd cannot disguise his reaction, nor stop himself from taking in a sharp breath.

"You look…" he says.

"I look what?"

"Words are not enough," he replies, reaching out to run his hand down the length of her honey gold hair. It shines against the deep velvety blue of the dress, which clings to all her curves then flares out from the thigh and hangs in shimmering folds around her feet.

Even though she holds his gaze, what she sees in his eyes makes her blush deeply as she realizes that perhaps wraith are more human in some ways than she had been led to believe.

She doesn't flinch when he kisses her. She's surprised that his lips are warm and soft and she doesn't stop herself from responding to him. She decides that if she's going to live this dangerously and make love to a wraith, then it may as well be this one, the one who has shown her only kindness.

She slides her tongue between his lips and runs the tip of it over the points of his sharp little teeth. She feels his mouth smile briefly but then both his hands are in her hair, holding the back of her head and pressing her mouth hard against his as his kiss becomes deeper and more urgent.

***

He lies sprawled across their bed on his back, her head resting on his chest and both her legs wrapped around his right leg. He combs the long, clawed fingers of his right hand through her hair as she trails hers up and down his stomach.

She was right; it wasn't so bad. In fact, she has to admit it was actually pretty good. Being a wraith he was rougher than she was used to, but she didn't mind that; in fact, in the heat of the moment it merely seemed passionate, and passion was something often sadly lacking from human males. And yet, at the same time, she was aware of him holding back, trying to be gentle with her and his consideration of her feelings touched her deeply.

His hand stops stroking her hair and flops back onto the bed behind her head. She looks up and sees he's fallen asleep. She props her head up on her elbow and studies him. He's not good-looking, not in the smooth way some of the other wraith are, but there is something about him that is extremely attractive.

He's not really so different from a human male – the odd variation here and there, but when you get down to it, he's just a man. And she's beginning to understand that, like a man, a wraith has feelings. Not just the arrogance and aggression they show toward each other, but the whole range of emotions.

He let her see his softer side tonight, showed he was capable of a tenderness most human men she knew did not possess. But does that mean anything… does he love her? Does she love him?

She rolls over carefully so as not to wake him, gets up and walks softly over to the window. She looks out at the stars and wonders what love really means anyway. If she does love Todd, why does her stomach do somersaults when she sees the other wraith, Steve?

She hugs herself in the chill of the night and a movement from the bed behind her makes her turn back to look at Todd again. He has curled up on his side making the ridges curving along the length of his spine stand out clearly in the dim light. She reaches out and touches them, letting the tips of her fingers trail lightly down his spine. He snarls softly in his sleep.

Even though he is a wraith, he makes her feel safe. She smiles at the apparent contradiction but realizes what it means. She does love him.

But… and there is always a 'but', isn't there? But there is Steve. What does he mean to her? He means something or she wouldn't have felt so afraid that Todd might not let her see him again.

Todd makes her feel safe. But Steve makes her feel as if he could make her wildest dreams come true.

She loves Todd. But she is in love with Steve.


	7. Chapter 7

CHAPTER SIX

Steve climbs into the dart's pilot seat. There is only one.

"Where am I supposed to sit?" she asks him brazenly.

He pats his lap. "Here," he says, smiling. "There's enough room. Climb in."

Amazing herself at her audacity, she clambers in and settles herself in his lap. He wriggles a little under her weight and squeezes his arms around her waist so that he can reach the control panels in front of her.

"Comfy?" he asks, his breath whispers across her cheek, warm and tingling. She's not, actually, but says nothing.

"Okay, here we go," he warns her as the dart seals them both inside.

Suddenly she's thrown back heavily into Steve's lap as they take off. They are forced cheek to cheek for a second and she can feel the heat of his face close to hers. Then inertia releases her and she jerks forward again. The speed of the dart as it leaves the hive launch bay is breathtaking as they are catapulted out into the huge vastness of open space.

At first she sees nothing but wraith numbers and letters streaming down the screen in front of her. But Steve flicks a long fingernail on an icon on the screen and it dissolves before her very eyes, leaving her staring out at more stars than she could ever have imagined even existed. She is completely enthralled.

"Have you ever seen the stars this close before?" Steve whispers into her ear so closely his breath wafts her hair.

"No! It's wonderful!" she gasps.

"Hold on tight," he whispers again and squeezes his arms tighter around her waist. Without thinking, she grasps the outside of his thighs tightly with her hands.

Suddenly she doesn't know up from down as the stars in front of her spin into a blur, then steak out behind her. Her body is thrown from one side to the other and Steve's arms seem to be all that prevent her from crashing head first through the cockpit canopy.

Completely freed from all inhibitions she loses herself in the sheer joy of the moment, laughing and squealing with delight at these completely new and thrilling sensations as they twist and turn and loop around in the endless starry blackness.

***

She can't believe she let him maneuver her into this situation, but somehow she finds herself alone with Steve in his rooms. She's no inexperienced little girl, she knows what's coming – and what's more, after Todd the other night, she knows it can be a pleasure even with a wraith. She's also not stupid, so does it mean that, deep down, she actually wants this? If living on this hive means her lifespan is so uncertain, why should she not get as much happiness in while she can? But why would such a good-looking wraith want her? There's something not right but she can't put her finger on it.

Steve senses her feelings but mistakes them for nerves. "Would you like a drink?" he asks her. He doesn't wait for her reply and pours a deep amber liquid into a crystal glass. He hands it to her. "Here, it'll help you relax," he says.

Stupidly, because she feels so on edge, she drinks the contents of the glass in one go. It's hot and fiery on the way down but as it settles in her stomach she feels it radiating gentle warmth throughout her entire system. Steve refills her glass and she drinks it down in one again.

He holds his right hand out to her, palm upward and again she sees the feeding slit clearly. But this time it looks different; it's almost pulsing. "You can touch it," he tells her.

She lays her hand flat on his palm. Unlike before when she'd held his hand, this time it tingles, like a small electric current through her arm. She snatches her hand away.

"It's quite safe, truly."

She reaches out again and this time she strokes the slit with just one finger. Steve shivers. Alarmed, she looks up at his face but he's smiling.

"That tickles," he says. Then he grasps her hand determinedly and takes her to his sleep chamber.

She knows that what she's about to do could be the death of her, but she also knows it's much too late to protest now.

***

She has never felt anything like this in her entire life.

She's no shrinking violet; she's had good sex before – and she counts Todd among them so this is not even her first wraith.

But Steve is good, very good – slick and well practiced, he clearly knows his way around a human female body. He keeps changing the rhythm and speed of his thrusts, holding her on the brink until her head is spinning. But it's not just that that threatens to completely overwhelm her.

His right hand is clamped firmly between her breasts, pouring life force into her like a searing white-hot fire. He cycles it back and forth, give and take, so rapidly that she literally doesn't know whether she is coming or going. The sensation of being held simultaneously on the brink of death and orgasm is so mind-blowing she fears she'll go insane.

She throws her head back and a guttural growl comes from deep within her throat. Steve answers with his own soft snarl as he changes the pace yet again, now tantalizingly, agonizingly slow.

She arches her back, her body demanding more in spite of her fear that this may be the last thing she ever feels, but Steve merely smiles, reminding her that he's the one in control.

His soft hair sweeps across her face as he brings his head down and kisses her, softly at first, then harder, and harder still. She doesn't even mind when he bites her lower lip with his sharp teeth; the pain and the pleasure mingle so completely that she's certain she's going to die, right there and then, of sheer, unbearable pleasure.

***

She lies sprawled across his bed on her back, a smile and a frown flitting alternately across her face. Steve wonders what she's thinking that makes her struggle so with her own emotions. More to the point, he wonders why he even cares.

He delves into her mind, able to root around more deeply while she's asleep. There they are… her hopes and dreams, the ones he could almost touch before. Now he can reach them and… but what is this?

He knows that the cyclical giving and taking of life force can create a powerful bond, but what he sees is more than that; her feelings run deeper, and not just for him, but for the Commander as well.

How can she love us both, he thinks. But then he senses a subtle difference, too subtle for him to quite comprehend at first. There is a thread of something else running through her feelings for the Commander; he tugs on it gently and tries to unravel it from the rest of her mind… Then suddenly he has it: respect.

He feels something churn unexpectedly in his own gut: surprise that this human female would feel respect for a wraith Commander to whom she is a slave, or jealousy that she does not also feel this for him?

And why should her obvious respect for his Commander make him even consider revising his original plans to undermine his authority?

Should he encourage her, use her feelings for them both to his own advantage? Or in doing so would he risk over-complicating his own emotional response to her?

Normally so self-assured, this confusion is new to him. He needs room to think but her presence, especially in such a provocatively intimate way, disturbs him deeply.

He shakes her by the shoulder. "Wake up." She stirs but irritatingly slowly so he shakes her again roughly, taking his bad mood out on her. "Get up and get dressed," he tells her, "You must get back to him before he misses you."

Steve appears to watch the stars through his window as she hurries to dress and leave. He doesn't really see them, for he is too busy trying not to look at her; too preoccupied with trying not to reach out and say something comforting to alleviate the bewilderment on her face; too confused by his own feelings to voice them even to himself, let alone her.


	8. Chapter 8

CHAPTER SEVEN

She has barely gone ten yards when she realizes she's forgotten her satchel. Todd will want to know what she has done today, what she has learned, and she cannot show him without it. She dithers in the corridor for several minutes. She's beginning to attract the unwanted attention of passing wraith and knows she must decide.

She turns and walks back the way she came, towards Steve's rooms.

When she gets there, she's surprised to see the door still open and she hesitates, loitering just out of sight. Then she hears two other wraith voices, neither of them Steve's.

"So you have her where you want her," one says, "I don't see it as a complication; it just makes her more pliable for you to use to your advantage."

"I don't see how it changes anything. In fact it will make it easier to get to him through her," the other adds. "If she loves you, she will do what you ask of her."

Ellen's hand flies to her mouth to stifle a gasp as she flattens herself against the wall. She cannot believe what she is hearing.

How could he possibly know her feelings for him? He never brought the subject up and she never even hinted… It suddenly dawns on her: the life force thing he did. Todd did that to her too – can wraith use it to see emotions… but to know that she would have to tell him what she had done and if she does that who knows what she might be risking?

Her head is spinning but she retains enough clarity of thought to know she must get away from here, quickly. She forces herself not to run as she hurries through the corridors, blinking back her tears and keeping her head lowered.

All the way she keeps repeating to herself, He's using me, Steve is using me to overthrow Todd. What has she done? She must tell him. Somehow she must find the courage to tell Todd what she has done.

***

They have spent all evening together and not once has she found the right moment to speak. Several times she has steeled herself and drawn breath to tell him, but then backed down at the last moment, too afraid of arousing his anger.

Even when they had gone to bed she could barely feel his kisses and caresses, able to think of nothing else but that she has probably thrown his love away – and for what?

What will he do? Will he be left with any other option but to kill her? She turns her back to him and curls herself up in a ball. She wants to cry. What has she gotten herself into? What has she done to Todd?

She feels movement behind her and becomes aware that he is now sitting up and looking down at her.

"Tell me what has happened," he says gently. She says nothing. "Do not try to deny it," he goes on, "You have been distant and on edge all night so I know something has upset you – and you came back without your satchel or your usual enthusiasm for your lessons."

He strokes her shoulder and sees the tears finally overflow and run down her face. "What has he done? Has he broken your heart, little one?"

His tenderness is too much for her to bear and she begins to sob openly. "Much worse than that!" she cries, "You will hate me for the terrible thing I have done!"

He takes her by the shoulders, sitting her up and twisting her around to face him, hugging her close to him until the worst of her sobs subside. When she quiets a little he leans back and wipes her tears with his thumbs and says, "Now, tell me what dreadful dead you have done so we can put it to rights."

***

"Are you going to kill me now?"

Todd is pacing the floor but stops and looks at her intensely. "Whatever gave you that idea?"

"You're angry with me… I wouldn't blame you if you did."

Todd almost laughs, but instead resumes his pacing and says, "I am very angry, yes, but not with you."

"I am resigned to whatever punishment you think necessary," she says hanging her head and trying not to cry again.

Todd stops his pacing again and walks over to where she sits on their bed. He lifts her chin with his hand so she looks him in the eye. "Listen to me," he tells her, "This is not your fault; you were simply caught in the middle." He tilts his head in that endearing way again and adds, "Admittedly I am disappointed that you allowed him to…" he lets her chin go and sets to pacing the room again. But when she drops her face into her hands he strides straight back to her and drags his fingers gently through her hair. "I know how persuasive he can be. I do not blame you. But I must have peace to think. Now, get dressed and go down to the worshippers' common room."

She stands up and pulls on the sweats she left on the floor then looks up at him, her cobalt eyes red-rimmed and dull with despair. "I am truly sorry. I will accept whatever decision you come to."

He smoothes her hair and tells her, "You are perfectly safe. Now go and find a friend and a hot drink and try to relax." As she turns to leave the room he adds, "And if you see him –"

"I will duck into another corridor," she interrupts, "I'm sorry I did not obey you and stay away from him in the first place."

He shrugs, "I was the one who relented."

She stands in the doorway for a moment, watching him pacing. "Todd?" she says quietly. He turns to look at her. "I love you," she says and leaves the room.


	9. Chapter 9

CHAPTER EIGHT

He wishes she hadn't said that; it complicates things. He knows she has feelings for this wraith she calls Steve and now that Todd knows how deep the other wraith's ambitions run, he could have used her as a bargaining tool to placate him and crush his rebellion. But can he simply hand her over to Steve as a bribe now?

Why should it matter to him how she feels? Or is the real issue not how she feels about him, but how he feels about her?

Only yesterday the matter had occupied his thoughts the whole of the day, leaving him feeling torn. By the end of the day he had finally admitted to himself that he cares for her.

See? Even now he cannot just say the word. Say it, he tells himself, say it out loud. "I love her." It sounds strange, but no less true for that.

But he simply doesn't have the time or even the right temperament. As much as he loves her, he also knows that he cannot give her what she needs. Does he hold onto her and risk suffocating her and holding her back? Or does he push her into the arms of another wraith and let her blossom?

He had almost decided that she should go to Steve, but this complication has driven a wedge of doubt into his mind.

Certainly if Steve truly wants her then she could be just the pawn Todd needs to make an ally of him instead of an enemy. But if Steve has just been using her to further his own ambitions then she's no use to Todd as leverage.

But more importantly, Todd asks himself, can he simply use her like that? While he had thought that Steve might truly care for her, he had been able to consider pushing her to him, believing that she would be happier with him. But now…?

He doesn't have enough information to make his decision. He must discern the truth of what is in Steve's mind, and there is only one way to find that out.

***

"Commander! It is the middle of the night. Is there a problem?" Steve speaks smoothly and calmly but Todd can detect a slight edge of fear in his voice, which means he must have something to feel guilty about.

"Indeed," Todd says gruffly, sweeping into Steve's room without waiting to be invited. "As you no doubt already know, I admire defiance a great deal," he says in a casual, conversational tone. Then he turns on Steve, his expression fierce, almost feral, and snarls, "Which is the only reason you are still standing there and not already lying dead at my feet!"

Steve's self-assured smile slips, "What am I supposed to have done, Commander?"

"Do not attempt to play games with me."

Steve quickly recovers his composure and stands his ground. "You are the one playing games, Commander."

Todd admires his courage. "Explain," he demands.

Steve knows he would be wasting his time trying to deny that he had planned to overthrow the Commander. His only recourse now is to defend his actions by explaining his concerns about Todd's repeated but failed negotiations with the Lanteans.

Todd's own defense of his actions leaves Steve far from convinced.

"But they are humans," he reminds Todd, "They do not honour their agreements. You have fallen foul of this several times yourself."

"That does not mean I should not keep trying."

"You are wasting your time trying to reason with humans."

"Are you so contemptible of all humans?" Todd asks, seeing his chance to get to the real heart of the matter – literally.

"They are cattle," Steve replies.

"All of them?"

Steve falters, wondering what point the Commander is trying to make. He can see that, as far as he is concerned, they are no longer referring to the Lanteans.

"You admitted that it was a human who made you reconsider your plans. She must mean something to you to do that." Steve remains resolutely silent. "Even humans make a distinction between animals for food and animals for companionship," Todd says, "Humans love their pets… can we wraith not do likewise?"

"But they are still just pets," Steve tries to stay on familiar ground.

"Only because humans' pets are not humanoid like them, they cannot hold an intelligent conversation with a cat…" Todd sees Steve's expression waver and grabs his moment, "…or mate with them…"

Steve's eyes involuntarily dilate and Todd knows he has hit the soft spot. He pushes his point home. "You are young, smooth, I have no doubt you have had many women. But what goes on between a wraith and his human behind closed doors is not always only about sex. Love happens, believe me. Frequently."

He can see the conflict surface in Steve's eyes and knows this wraith feels more for Ellen than he is willing to admit to himself. It's time to go straight for the jugular. "It is alright to love her, you know."

Suddenly, Steve roars, paces frantically up and down two or three times, then rams his fist through the nearest partition wall.

"Feel better now?" Todd asks calmly.

"No!" Steve yells. "I do not feel – I think –" he growls again. "I do not know what I feel!"

"Yes you do, you just do not want to admit it."

"And how would you know?"

"Because I have struggled with the very same thoughts myself."

"I thought I could use her!" Steve confesses, "But when I realized I meant something to her I could not bring myself to… to…"

"Hurt her?"

"Why? Why does it matter to me?"

"Because you love her."

"How can I love her? She is a human, she is just…" Steve reverts to pacing the room again. He cannot quite believe he is having this conversation. He throws his head back impatiently. "She has such dreams! All I did was show her the Butterfly Nebulae in the observation bay, but you should have seen the wonder in her eyes! You couldn't imagine how she looked."

"Oh, I can imagine it…"

Steve stops pacing and turns to look Todd in the eye and an understanding slowly and silently passes between them. "I want to see that look on her face every day," Steve says quietly, "I want to make her dreams come true."

"And I have a way that you can do that," Todd says.


	10. Chapter 10

CHAPTER NINE

"I will give her to you, Ellen and command of your own hive."

Steve cannot believe his own ears but stays silent, waiting for the catch. Todd goes on, "This will allow you to back off from your plan to overthrow me, yet still save face with those on this hive who support you." Todd stands facing the window as he delivers his offer, his hands clasped behind his back. He watches Steve from the corner of his eye and has to hide a grin; he knows the wraith cannot believe his luck.

"In return for this I will expect you to keep your word and make her dreams come true. You will take your hive to the farthest flung parts of the galaxy; show her all the wonders there are to see there. You will teach her, expand her mind and her horizons, and you will protect her and make her feel cared for." Todd turns to look at Steve. "You are waiting patiently for me to tell you the catch, are you not?"

Steve cannot help himself and actually smiles. "I confess that so far what you have asked of me is no hardship, Commander."

Todd does not miss the other's use of his title with a great deal more respect than he has heard from this one for some time.

"I have two problems I expect you to help me with in return," Todd explains. "These are unstable times and I wish to consolidate my position and you will help me to do so. You will patrol the outlying borders of my alliance; mop up lone hives that can be brought into our group and put down those that refuse to join us. This is a significant promotion for you and I will be relying upon you. Can you do this?"

The trust and responsibility Todd is bestowing upon him has the effect he fully expected and Steve visibly pulls himself up to his full height and answers proudly, "I will not disappoint you." He draws a breath to speak again but hesitates.

"Yes? You have questions? Ask them now for tomorrow you will be hundreds of light years away," Todd says.

"The other thing," Steve replies, "You said you have two problems you want me to help you with."

"Indeed. By now you will have worked out that I love Ellen too," Todd tells him with complete honesty. "But I cannot give her what she needs. That is why I am giving her to you. Right now she is angry with you because she thinks you plan to betray me, but I know that she loves you as much as she loves me." Todd sees realization dawn on Steve's face. "You sensed it in her, did you not?"

Steve nods without speaking.

Todd turns back to the window as he continues, "You can give her the sense of wonder in her life that I cannot. What I ask of you is that you will not tell her of this. I will push her to you by letting her believe that I do not care for her and you will not tell her otherwise."

He turns when Steve makes to protest and glares at him, "She will not go otherwise. It is for the best. Give me your word."

Steve nods sharply. "You have my word."

Todd turns to walk from the room and as he reaches the door Steve calls out, "Commander!" Todd turns and Steve tells him quietly, "I will love her enough for both of us."

Todd smiles, nods once and leaves the room.

***

"It has already been arranged, you will obey me!"

Todd has told Ellen what he has put into place. He has to remain distant and aloof so that he can bring himself to push her away; he is doing this because he loves her and he believes she'll be happier with Steve, but he cannot let her know this; he must make her believe that he does not love her, so that she will go to him.

"No! I will not go!" she defies him. "And I certainly will not go with that… that… traitor!"

Todd inwardly smiles at how much like a wraith she can be when she is riled, but he pushes his response down hard. "It was a misunderstanding," he tells her firmly, "That is often the result of eavesdropping."

Desperately, Ellen tries to talk him out of this. "Did you not hear me? I told you I love you!"

"I know you have feelings for me," Todd says, "Deep and complex feelings. But it's their very complexity that makes it… unworkable." Todd hardens his features. "That is why I am ordering you to go with him."

"But he doesn't love me!"

"Yes he does. I have sensed it."

"Not like you do…"

"I do not – I cannot love you! Do not ask it of me!"

Todd turns his back to her so she cannot see his face betray him by completely contradicting his words. He waits until he hears a sob catch in her throat as she whispers, "Damn you!" then runs from the room. When he is certain she is gone and the door is closed, he roars until his throat hurts and he can roar no more.

***

Ellen storms into Steve's room without waiting for permission, strides straight up to him and slams her fists against his chest with such force it rocks him on his heels.

"What did you tell him?" she demands, "What did you say to him to make him put me away like this?"

"I told him I love you."

"Lies!" she screams at him, "You were using me! And now I've lost him because of you!" She starts to pummel her fists on Steve's chest and he lets her, waiting for her to exhaust her fury. "I love him - he makes me feel safe and secure. I want to stay with him!" She buries her face in his chest and sobs.

Steve bites his bottom lip and puts his arms around her. His stomach is twisting and he has an inkling of just what the Commander is going through for the sake of this human female. His newfound respect goes up another notch. He takes a deep breath and takes the first step in keeping his word to his Commander.

"Safe? Secure? I can make your pulse race and your heart leap!" he tells her as smoothly as he can. "He doesn't want you here. Come with me and I can fulfill all your desires. After all, what reason do you have to stay here?"

"Give me a reason to go with you," she challenges, tilting her head back to look in his eyes.

"I love you," he says. He dips his head and kisses her with all the passion he can muster. He's right, she thinks, he can make her pulse race and her heart leap… and there is nothing left for her here any more.


	11. Chapter 11

CHAPTER TEN

She's been with Steve for more than a year – a long and eventful year that has certainly been far from safe. She hasn't missed the irony of spending many hours assisting Steve with reasoned arguments to persuade solo hives, usually queenless ones, to join Todd's cause. Something she probably would have done with Todd had she been able to stay with him.

True to his word Steve has shown her so many wondrous planets she has almost lost count. But in between the days they manage to spend alone together, she's more than happy to help him by compiling his reports and sending copies back to the main group of hives in the alliance. She also receives information and bulletins and keeps his computer records in good order.

She is truly happy with Steve but nevertheless she feels the need, like a compulsion, to keep tabs on Todd. Her work allows her to do so, following his career from Commander to High Commander to Supreme Commander. She's proud of him and happy that he is doing what she knows he is driven to do. But more importantly, she knows he is alive.

As she and Steve work to help Todd expand his alliance they face many dangers and she is beginning to understand that perhaps a 'boring' life would not be so bad after all. But likewise as she follows Todd's exploits she can see that his life is not as tedious as it had first seemed.

Feeling nostalgic one day she finds herself remembering evenings spent with Todd. Sometimes they would sit and read quietly, each lost in their own choice of book; other times she would curl up on the floor beside him and listen to him reading. It was the way she had learned to speak and read wraith so quickly.

A sudden random thought comes into her head and she rushes over to her trunk in the corner of her and Steve's sleep chamber. She flings open the lid and digs around inside, throwing some of the contents onto the floor. She doesn't even know what she's looking for, but she knows she'll know it when she sees it.

Then she sees it; a corner of a large book under her cold-weather boots. She pulls on the exposed corner and drags the book out onto her lap where she kneels on the floor. She knows she didn't pack it. Her heart is beating in her throat as she turns the fly cover and sees the familiar handwriting, written in her own language.

"If you love someone, set them free; if they come back they're yours, if they don't, they never were."

Ellen clutches the book to her chest and immediately understands what Todd has done. Now she knows, not only that she still loves him, but just how much he loves her – enough to let her go because he thought she would be happier with someone else.

As she slowly becomes aware that tears are pouring freely down her face, she knows that she must somehow find the courage to tell Steve.

***

"He set me free, even though I belonged to him."

"But you don't belong to him any more," Steve says, trying to persuade her to stay.

"Yes, I do. I think I always have."

"He said he doesn't love you."

"No," she says, suddenly realising what it was that Todd had been really saying to her. "He said 'I can't love you', not 'I don't love you'. He was trying to tell me that he thought he couldn't love me the way I need him to. But he does, I know that now." She looks at Steve and he can see how much this is costing her. If she leaves it will not be because she does not love him or want to be with him, but because she needs to be with another even more.

"I still love him," she says almost apologetically.

The strength of conviction in her voice betrays the truth of her feelings. Steve knows he cannot make her stay. He has no doubt that she loves him, but her love for Todd is deeper somehow. Perhaps Todd's love for her is also deeper than what he feels for her himself – he has to confess that he could not have done what Todd did.

Or could he…? By merely contemplating letting her go back to Todd, is he not doing the same thing – setting her free simply because she will be happier? Her happiness matters to him.

"I will arrange a place for you on the next supply shuttle," he tells her.

"Thank you. I… I will miss you… I do lo –"

"You do not need to say it, I know. But I also know you need to go to him," he says gently. Then he takes a deep breath and adds briskly, "Now, get your things together. The shuttle leaves tomorrow."

Taking her cue from him to ease the pain with humour, she asks him, "Who's going to keep your computer files organized and write your reports now?"

Steve laughs and she drinks in the sight of his smiling face and locks it away in her heart forever.

***

"What happened with Steve?"

"Oh, mundane real life set in. It happens to humans as well, you know. Dating is fun but when you start having to deal with the laundry and the dart maintenance, then the shine starts to wear off…" Todd can see that she's using flippancy to cover up deep feelings – but how deep and for whom?

"I am surprised he was willing to let you go."

"He wasn't at first. He loves me in his own way…" Her voice goes soft and Todd dares to hope it is for him, not for the loss of Steve. "Now he's commander of his own hive he can have his fill of admiring worshippers, so I was a possession he could learn to live without."

"Hmm… I had thought that his feelings were stronger than that," Todd counters, needing to dig deeper into her motives.

She sighs deeply in resignation. "Actually, they are, I'm being facetious and grossly unfair to him… I apologize." She lowers her eyes but Todd senses her sadness. She does have genuine, deep feelings for Steve – which can only mean she's here because her feelings for him are stronger… can't it? "He didn't want me to leave, we argued about it a lot. But the arguments made him see that it wasn't working, we just weren't meant to be."

"You are saying that we are meant to be…?" Todd holds his breath.

"Aren't we?"

"And the adventures you so longed for?"

"What you did for me – what you showed you feel for me – that's worth more than all the adventures the entire cosmos has to offer…" Ellen's eyes film over, but she blinks it away quickly and pulls on her flippant mask again. "Besides, I've had enough excitement the last year to last a lifetime! I'm ready to settle down." She takes a deep breath. "If you'll have me…?"

"Good," Todd says, breathing again at last and taking her cue to be glib, "because if you're going to be the Supreme Commander's sole personal worshipper, you had better fall into line this time!"


	12. Chapter 12

EPILOGUE

Todd never tires of watching Ellen grow and learn, her fascination with the universe around her never seems to diminish and he relishes the challenge of finding new knowledge for her to discover.

Today they are relaxing in the atrium of the on-board conservatory, sitting facing each other on a bench.

He lifts her hands in his so they are between their faces. "Hold the two ends of your fingers close but not touching," he tells her, letting his own hands drop back into his lap. "Now, gaze at the space between your fingers, relax your eyes and let them defocus…"

He hides a grin as she tries not to allow her eyes to cross. Even when her expression is comical, as now, he finds her beautiful and there is wonder in every hour he manages to put aside to spend with her. "What do you see?" he asks her.

"Nothing," she sighs disappointedly.

"Keep looking," he encourages.

Slowly, gradually, she sees light, like wisps of glowing smoke, drifting between her fingers. "I see it!" she cries, like a child who has just seen her first magic trick. "I can see it!"

"Now, look at that plant over there and do the same thing," he suggests. "Let your eyes drift out of focus, keep looking…"

She sees the bush glow, like a light shining from within. Excited, she turns to look at Todd and sees the light glowing from within him; it is in him, on, him, all around him… she holds her own hands up in front of her face and she sees the light glowing from within herself.

"It is the energy that is in all things," he tells her.

"It's just beautiful," she sighs softly.

"I may not be able to give you adventure on the high seas, but I can take you on voyages of inner discovery, help you to find yourself, discover your own strengths and develop your skills and talents."

"I think that sounds far more fulfilling in the long run – especially at my age," she laughs.

"Ah yes, about that…" Todd says. "You know I can keep you alive for many hundreds of years… do you think you could manage to be happy with me for that long?"

She turns to him, the energy glow around them blending and surrounding them both as if they were one, and tells him, "An eternity with you would not be long enough."

THE END


End file.
